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11 reasons to reject the recession and grow your business

Guest post by: Andrew Rogerson

Article Overview: Watching CNN, CNBC, MSNBC and the other media you keep hearing about the “green shoots” in the economy. This can be seen with things like the Federal Stimulus program beginning to gain momentum, clear direction with the resolution to the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler, the level of fear about the economy subsiding, housing sales starting to stabilize and unemployment stabilizing. So it’s time to put the recession behind us and get on with it.

11 reasons to reject the recession and grow your business

Many economists are predicting that with GM filing for bankruptcy on June 01, 2009 that the economy has hit bottom and will start to improve. With this being the longest recession since the Great Depression and many "green shoots" in the economy starting to appear, it's now time to prepare for future growth and not sit back and wait for it to happen. Besides, if you don't do these things now when will you have time?

So here are eleven tips to be ready for growth:

•1. Let's start with you If you're running a business that sells products you are used to counting your inventory. If you are a service business and don't have inventory you understand the concept. So this idea is simple, let's start with you. What do you need to be ready for the growth of your business - a vacation to freshen up your energy levels, some training to learn that piece of software you always wanted to know how to use, an accounting, sales and marketing or Social Network Media course.

•2. Do some audits of the business Let's make sure we are "business ready" so when things get busy we don't waste opportunities. Items to check in this category include your lease; when does it expire and is it worth re-negotiating with the landlord now or hiring a professional to help you do this? Update Training Manuals and Employee Manuals. If you don't have either of them, now's the time to do it or hire someone to do it for you. Answering the same question from each of your employees is not only repetitive but a waste of time. Making sure your manuals are also legally compliant is a good business investment. This audit can also include the corporate records of the business.

•3. Review your business insurance This idea is an extension of the above. If you're doing a business audit, talk to your insurance agent to see what changes you need to make. You're probably concerned some policies have gone up but it's possible some have gone down or you can lessen coverage on some items to better handle your premiums.

•4. Talk to your employees and get them motivated The recession has been tough on everybody. Being the owner of the business we tend to think it's been tougher on us. However, your employees have been concerned about losing their job, cuts to the numbers of hours they work, reduction in overtime or bonus' plus their own standard of living. It's time to re-engage them; check where they are at and what they see. Perhaps it's time to hand them more responsibility so they can grow as the business grows but this may require training. Let's get that training going and building a team spirit.

•5. Upgrade your office equipment If you're working off outdated equipment and its holding back your business, now's the time to upgrade. If the new equipment is sophisticated there will be a learning curve involved. Now's the time to get on with it. And if you do it now, you will be ahead of your competition.

•6. Upgrade your computer network The technology experts suggest changing computers and software every 3 years. If this is critical infrastructure for your business operations now's the time to do it. After all, we are in the 21^st century and technology is dynamic so let's use it to its fullest extent.

•7. Upgrade your accounting system Your accounting system is the financial life blood of your business. If you are working off old software that you've been threatening to upgrade, now is the ideal time. Changing systems requires proper research and validation, building a strategy to move to the new version and the associated training. Now is the perfect time to look at this option.

•8. Talk with your customers Here's a novel idea - talk to your customers. I mean really talk to them. Find out how they are doing, how they are feeling and their view of the world. Perhaps they are thinking of spending a little more as they see things are turning around. And as they are one of your customers and already buy from you, they may be willing to buy something else you sell but didn't realize you carried it because they were too busy to ask.

•9. Update your website For a lot of businesses, the website is the gateway customers use to decide if they want to do business with you. If your website has broken links or hasn't been upgraded in a long time, now's the time to have a professional refresh all your products and services and train you on any new technologies they recommend.

•10.Contribute locally in your community There are plenty of opportunities to help in your community. In fact, local communities are desperate for help. Find something that's important to you and get involved as your help is needed and will help put your issues into perspective.

•11.Create or make a communications plan What do your employees say when they answer the phone, write in emails or when they meet customers face to face? What do your sales brochures say that you give to your clients? How about your website, business cards or advertisements? Do your current communications sound tired, bored or uninterested? Now is an ideal time to revisit what you communicate and how you communicate the products and/or services in your business.

Is selling your business in the back of your mind? Now's the perfect time to work through that option. Selling a business requires thought and planning. Building an exit strategy includes positioning your business correctly, not only for potential buyers but also how this impacts you personally with tax and personal financial planning issues. With unemployment so high, buyers will be looking for options other than returning to Corporate America.

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Article Tags: Andrew Rogerson, business, Business broker Sacramento, business escrow, business for sale, Business ownership, business plan, due diligence, Entrepreneur, exit plan, franchise, franchise for sale, Murphy Business and Financial Sacramento, Sacramento business broker, Sacramento business ownership, Sacramento business valuation, Sacramento business value, Sell a business, succession planning



Related Forum Posts
Be fresh and alive and attentive - Keep on doing the same old thing and business will evaporate. You have to be fresh and alive and attentive. Find at least 4 reasons to contact your customers every year. Thank-you card, newspaper clipping, birthday card. It's all about them, not about you. Treat the 20% like royalty and schmooze the 80% to milk more business and prospect new business so you can grow by 25% a year for a 5% net growth.
Re: Quote of the Day - ?"Use rejection as fuel to motivate you t - You could get 999 rejections and make a good profit from the 1 who says yes if you set your systems up properly... Also, if you set up a "marketing funnel" rejection of your primary business does not necessarily mean that everything you offer will be rejected. For example, a lot of people would rather buy a "how to do XXXX" product than actually DO XXXX, so if you have a primary business that will enable them to do XXXX and find that 99.9% of your leads reject it, make sure you also offer them a free "How to do XXXX" sellamation report which promotes a "How to do XXXX" ebook/video/audio package. If you can cost it out so that 5 purchases will cover the cost of bringing in 1000 leads, you will have opened the door to endless free marketing from those who reject your primary offer while the 0.1% who ACCEPT it will earn you your bread, or even make you very rich indeed!
Something I never heard off - Keep on doing the same old' thing and business will evaporate. You have to be fresh and alive and attentive. Find at least 4 reasons to contact your customers every year. Thank-you card, newspaper clipping, birthday card. It's all about them, not about you. Treat the 20% like royalty and schmooze the 80% to milk more business and prospect new business so you can grow by 25% a year for a 5% net growth.
Persistence gives live to small business. - While I was reading about the 10th year anniversary of google, I counted back 10 years and what I see was persistent. Every small business can grow big if we will be persistent. Persistent actually brings consistence. There is no business that cannot grow big if the owner will not be too haste to succeed. Hastiness has always been the bane of colapsed small business. Whatever you do as antergreneur keep at it and be innovative about it, you will soon be celebrating growth. To me, there is no business that cannot grow be if persistence is employed.
surviving an economic crisis - I'm moving to Idaho then I'm building a bunker and stockpiling 2 years worth of supplies. I'm buying a fishing rod, a hunting rifle and bunch of chickens to produce eggs... I like chickens because they don't care about recessions or depressions. OK... that may be Plan C - let's hope it doesn't get to that. So far, our business is doing well, we often target affluent markets and from our experience in the early 90's recession this worked well. BUT - what we're seeing this time around is not a simple recession. I think it could get bumpy. What type of businesses thrive in an economic downturn?


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